Remote sites may be connected using the Internet, an intranet, or over standard telephone lines to accommodate conferencing between the sites. For example, each site may include a microphone, speakerphone, or other device for transmitting audio signals between the sites, a camera for generating and transmitting video signals between the sites, and perhaps a whiteboard for sharing written data between the sites. Each site may also include an overhead projector for remotely viewing documents.
Present dataconferencing systems, however, suffer several disadvantages. For example, in the case of document viewing, inadequate lighting may cause shadowing on portions of the document, thereby resulting in poor image quality and difficulty in viewing the document by the remote site. Additional lighting may be used to increase the light intensity directed toward the document. However, the additional lighting often generates excessive amounts of heat, consumes additional power, and creates glare. Further, present dataconferencing systems may also be limited to providing intermittent snapshots of transparency slides. Thus, present systems may be incapable of providing real-time remote image viewing which may be desirable for classroom teaching or other applications.